Bronchitis Maximus

I have been coughing as loud and as spasmic as a sick wolf for the past 10 days..... awwhhh... such limited things that can be done during those days.

As soon as this is over, I am going to:

Be able to carry my cats and pat their stomach again without scaring them with my "loud barks".

Wipe and wipe and wipe the dusts in my room, my car, my office and by the way yell at everyone else to do the same.

Down cold fizzy McDonald's Coke (McD's seem to have higher level of CO2 - kow!)

Eat as much sambal as I can (slurp the 'air asam' for ikan bakar by the tablespoons) and it's not going to make me sneeze my way into a seizure.

Sing my heart out at the karaoke. I'm gonna look for Aishah's numbers this time, trash my throat by singing Celine Dion's number, then try singing "Walking in Memphis - Marc Cohn", "I feel the earth move - Martika", "I wanna be with you - Mandy Moore", "Holla Back Girl - Gwen Stefani" and theeennnnn try those numbers by currently hot Indonesian bands.

Dance my head out on a Mumbo Jumbo night (been a homebody for the past 1/2 year... whyyy????) and not worry about the smoke machine.

After which......

I will probably fall sick all over again!

Shali's Throne.

I spent some time at Shali's house after the birth of her second child.

We spent time evaluating how well this old live-in confinement masseus, Mok Nab's, massaging technique on us. She will massage her and 'tungku' her with the hot stone for two to three weeks and then she will be off to another house to serve the next customer. While Shali tends to her infant and perform her prayers, Mok Nab kneaded me.

Shali: This cream is really good, see, my stretch mark semua dah hilang. (Shali lifted her sarong and showed me the marks behind her thighs).

I looked at those marks and so many memories came flashing back. DKNY and Exclamation perfume scents linger around me again.

Back when we were in Form 3, we spent time in her room, her make-up set all strewn on the dressing table. Chomel's earings, DKNY belts, Rest n Relax skimpy tops, Body Shop's lipstick, her sister's Mills & Boons books, hair removal cream, loads of girl talk.

Party clothes were all over the floor as we exchanged and mix match what we have to be able to look different and rich and spoilt every week.

Sure there were teenagers' narcissist and selfish comments being exchanged. The idea of who's the ideal man we should end up with were discussed-all according to what we perceive is right from what we saw in TV and Pop Magazines. The idea of how much money we should make, the kind of wedding we'd hold yadaa, yadaaa. Sweet naivety.

At that point my eyes tried to swallow its tears. She came a long way to be the selfless person she is now. If she had sighted the stretch mark back then, she and I and her sister would all be wailing together in agony on her bedroom floor. But now it seem instead like a sign of pride. Oh yes! I guess it is an ultimate sign of sacrificial mileage. Baby bottles and toys replace the sight of strewn make-up and facial applicators.

Except... a nice little black handbag was nicely displayed on her dressing chair.

Here I am with measly rock climbing scars on my shins and palms which serves no meaning. (Tapi wa tetap suke panjat-memanjat k). But at least it reminds me of the day the three of us got caught red handed trying to climb the front gate one late night. Just when we were lifting our legs up and trying to avoid the skirts from getting snapped on the spears, her dad's headlights shone at us. Dang! That's why I decided to turn professional, satu hari nanti boleh start pecah rumah.

Shali: Shak says she's gonna hold a 'Picadilly Reunion' soon! She met Hasnol recently and they're trying to work something out.

Me: I hope everyone dresses up the same way we used to then. But how do we say it? GQ?
How about dress code for women?

Shali: I don't know but I finally have boobs now. I'm sure it fits the code!

Heheh! Those were the days we stuffed tissues in our bra cups.

Financially, she thinks she's less fortunate than people around her. But least that she knows people around her notices the wealth she has this early, that cannot depreciate, that not many, could withold with courage in this age.

I am proud of the person she is then and now. I am glad I get to witness the things I need to help build my courage in facing what my future witholds.

The Atrocities of Friendster

I was crying and pissing in my pants reading this.
Read Vol 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Sooo fucking hillarious!!!

Vanan, thanks! My neck is 1inch wider now.

From Taiping with Love

Haadoiiih, with love hapa ke benda? Nak naik Maxwell Hill ni was one hellufa terrifying experience... tapi syok! The landrover tu macam boneshaker, we were staring at the tyres to see if the bunga is still there before it took off. It is 13km very steep journey upwards melalui banyak-banyak chicanes and hairpins.

On the way up, we saw little children, very old men walking upwards. Dah tak ada kerja lain ke nak buat?

F1 cars go through corners on flat road with just one driver in the car, ini 12 orang dalam landrover where you can only grab your partner's hair when they start to 'kona' lipat. Best gila! The Korean tourist macam maintain cool, the M'sians tutup mata.

It rained so hard when we reached up there. It's a different kind of feeling getting to watch an ocean of 'hutan batu' instead. We stood in silence on a suspended bridge when the rain reduced to drizzle.

By that time, the few old men and a team of little kids who walked up arrived, all wet and shivering.

They impose very strict rules for those who's interested to stay in the old colonial bungalows up there. No alcohol and pork allowed. Couples sleeping-in must produce marriage certificate.

The 'Mee Udang' place that is so reknowned in Taiping.

TU DIA!! Udang ber-mee ke Mee ber-udang? Where's the mee?

Small sized portion for RM5 and slightly bigger sized portion for RM6.

We counted the number of prawns in each plate, RM5 one serves 15 prawns, RM6 one serves 18 prawns. I asked the makcik if she rear the prawns herself. She said they're purchased from a nearby market everyday. I asked again why the generous amount. She said, "Lagi cepat habis, lagi cepat boleh tutup kedai." Hmm.... I guess that's how they put love in Taiping; in generosity.

We thought the taste is like the 'Prawn Mee' found in most Chinese Kopi Tiams. This one is much more watery, nothing fantastic. Just regard it as if you get to pay very cheap price to eat a lot of prawns over conversations with friends!

Action is Eloquence.

Thoughts in this blogosphere can just get lost from our memories. Like Najah Nasseri, I am hijacking the same thing from Living In Dreams and his commentator, Zue. It is something I long to express but I was without the gift of enough vocabularies. This is for memories.

Stingray said:

Sometimes, as human beings, we absorb too much. Too much data, too much
information, too many opinions, too much complexity in business and/or politics.
Or, even in our personal lives.

We listen too much, we give too much, we
don't pause enough to ask where we're going with things. We live on instinct -
reacting to things that are happening around us. We live on routine. We drink in
cynicism like it's a natural drink from the cup of life, we're tasting. And
sometimes, we live on feelings - and we stop thinking. We're so busy with what
we want, that we stop asking ourselves what we need.

We don't spare enough time to listen to ourselves. We're too busy listening to others - and giving them the benefit of the doubt. Making sure that they're not short of what they need or want - devoting ourselves to their satisfaction or happiness. Most times, unreciprocated.

Have you realized that sometimes, the more time
you spend with others - you lose a bit more of yourself? Sometimes, you
compromise so much of yourself and what you stand for, in order to be inclusive,
that you dilute who you really are.

Zue said:

attended a course last 2 weeks..Customer Relation Mgt.. one of the things he told us, was we often neglect the 3rd category of customer.. ie ourself... we try so much to please the rest of the world.. and we ignore our coreself.. anyway he recommended that we start having some TTM, time to myself... quiet, solitary time.. just for your mind and body to relax.. funnily enough .. i find myself working and responding better after TTM sessions.. kewl kan..

If not for doing just that, by getting out from burying myself in work and other escapades, I wouldn't be as free and as happy as I am now :)

Alhamdulillah!

Mr and Mrs Reeves, the Immortal Couple.

Sigh! This is such a blogger's trait, reiterating what's already on the news.

I still remember watching Superman II in Pawagam Ria, late dad brought me to see it.
I was only in Std 2 but fell in love with a superstar. I had the photo of the movie newspaper ads cut out nicely and placed under my pillow. Heh heh heh you surely think this is so corny.

Yeap, yeap, yeap, it sure is the reason I get this fetish for men in glasses (not men who wears their underwear over their spandex eih!)

Least that I expected to also be inspired by his Superwoman; Dana Reeves passed away due to lung cancer.

I can't help smiling though, thinking that it took only 10 months for the couple to be together again in a place where pain do not exist.

This makes me remember what a dearest one said, "Men can never live without their other half. When the wife dies, their will to go on will usually deteriorate."

No wonder men needs to quickly find another companion and women usually choose to remain single. For late Dana, I don't know how anyone could contract lung cancer if they do not smoke. Could it be that because they are so close that her soul had prepared itself; perhaps to just to make sure she lived long enough to settle the unsettled after his death?

Eventhough the couple is no longer around, they left a legend for others to remember and a Foundation that already benefits the world that earns them great deeds even after they have passed on.

What a thing to reflect on this International Women's Day.